Dog Parks... Friend or Foe???

[Kendra K. Rhoton]

Well, it was an interesting weekend... my parents came down to help me with some stuff around the new house... putting up shelves, etc. They did a fantastic job! Before they came we discovered that Remington had finally started to lose those baby teeth of his and we ended up finding 4 of them in just a few days! And lastly... we went to the Dog Park on Sunday evening....

We got Remington a Dog Park pass so that he could be with other dogs and have fun and learn to socialize better... we have only been to the park twice. The first time we met up with a friend of ours and her two papeeon's (no clue how to spell it) and Remington did great. Well, Sunday we went and the Dog Park was packed... but we were glad because we thought it would be good for Remington. We walked in and all the dogs took to Remington right away. He had soooo much fun playing and watching each of them. It was really great and Dan and I were pleased with how well he was doing. Well.... after we had been there for 30 minutes or so a new dog entered the park. I didn't think a thing about it, I mean why would I? Anyways, this dog came right at Remington and ATTACKED him within minutes of being there. This dog was baring his teeth at Remington and biting for his neck. He had Remington pinned to the ground. The owner could not get her dog off of Remington so Dan and several other people had to break them apart. Remington ran straight over to me then and sat in between my legs for the rest of the time there. The lady came to apologize to us and insisted that her dog never acts like that. Well, within a few minutes her dog got into another fight with another dog that had just arrived in the park and several people had to break them apart. By this point in time I was very shaken and READY TO GO! I told Dan I thought we should leave and he agreed. We hooked our leash up to Remington and started to walk him out and the same dog came over and started to seriously bite at him again. The lady could not stop her dog and it took us like 10 minutes to be able to leave because this dog would not leave Remington alone. Remington was crying like I have never heard before! We final got out of there and the lady apologized to us once again about her dog. By this time I was very upset. I mean it is one thing for two dogs to be "playing" but this was not playing and if she was unable to control her dog then she and her dog shouldn't have been in there! We got Remington to the car and sat down to check him out to make sure he was alright. He seemed to be. We were probably more upset about the whole thing than he was. The incident has scared me enough that I don't want to go back!

I guess my question is... do you think this dog was playing off of Remington's fear or do you think that dogs are just like people... some just don't get along? Should I let go of the incident and return to the park? Am I'm being an over protective parent???

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

No your not being over protective. This dog is obviously a "Bully" and yes is acting off of Remington's fears. Hannah goes through this all the time and some people don't understand, some think it's cute that their dog is picking on a so called "sissy" dog. 1st if a dog fight starts and you try to get them apart, you need to pull the dog on top by his hind legs, that will seperate even a pit bull and you can't be bitten, I was told this by a Police Officer who patrols our dog park. 2nd. you said you pay to go to this dog park, they must have rules, report these incidents, most parks have an aggressive dog rule. I also try and get the peoples license plate number, if they leave ahead of me, this way if anything happens with my dogs, I can get their information. We have also taken a lot of abuse at the dog park and one paticular guy kept calling Hannah a Sissy dog, why don't you take Sissy home, so I did get fed up with it and told him the next time his dog jumped on mine and was biting on her back that she was crying and could not get up because this other dog was a 70 to 80 lb mastiff pup, I would kick the dog. I have never in my life ever kicked a dog, but if I have to protect my own dogs, I will. We also have a Husky who comes to the park and the woman never stops her dog from biting others, thank God one day this guy actually went after her dog three times to stop it from attacking other dogs, and this woman still insisted her dog was not aggressive. Several of the guys watched her leave, and said next time she was getting flat tires...lol. Dog parks are at your own risk, and I try and watch who is there and how the dogs are before we go in. If they are starting packs, we don't go in, also if any of the ones who acted aggressive before show up...we leave. It's sad, but for the protection of my dogs, they come first.

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

I have been through the same thing more than once. I keep going back because I love it there and I don't want to let a few bad apples spoil it for me. Yankee has made lots of friends and so have I. If a dog is aggressive, you can report them and they will be banned from the park. At least that's how it is here. Yankee has never been hurt or had any marks on him. I'm not sure what I would do if he did. I have told owners to leash their dogs, I have pulled dogs off him.

I guess if you can be strong and learn how to deal with these situations, you can go back to the park. Some people choose a quieter time to go to avoid large groups of dogs. It all depends on you and what you are comfortable with.

[Jeri]

This dog should have been on a leash and removed from the dog park after the first incident. There is a way to handle it, but sounds like an aggresive dog. The owner needs to watch Ceasar Milan and his method. She needs to be the leader and in charge. I hope your dog is okay. Now I would just play with smaller groups of friendly dogs, so your dog will understand that it is okay to play with dogs. Be an overprotective dog owner, but in charge of your dog just like you did. There are aggresive breeds out there (doodles do not seem to be aggressive). There are dogs that are Red Zone dogs that need owners with strong leadership. My doodle just wants to play with all dogs, but I am careful to watch for signs that another dog has other ideas. Socializing them is so important in the right setting. Well that is my 2 cents. Sounds like you have a nice dog.